UnionPay card joins pack of top players
Since its founding in Shanghai 10 years ago, the firm has 2.9 billion cards in use, widened its reach to 135 countries and is challenging Visa
Among the designer brands from Prada to Chanel at the Harrods flagship store in London, Li Yafang spotted a logo she knows from back home: the red, blue and green of UnionPay cards.
"It's very convenient that I can now use my UnionPay card" to shop abroad instead of carrying a stack of cash, said Li, who was buying the same £1,190 (HK$14,830) Prada Saffiano Lux handbag carried by the hit woman in the Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol movie. "I hope more places abroad will accept UnionPay."
Her wish is becoming reality as UnionPay, founded 10 years ago in Shanghai by the State Council and central bank, extends its reach.
With more plastic in circulation than any other payment network - 2.9 billion cards, or 45 per cent of the world's total last year - UnionPay is now accepted in 135 nations. Its rise is causing friction as it grabs market share from Visa and MasterCard, which it surpassed in customer spending in the first half of the year.
"UnionPay has absolute dominance in China, and it's now expanding beyond that to become a top global player," said James Friedman, an analyst at Susquehanna International. "Their numbers show they are already in the league of Visa and MasterCard."
A case brought by the United States government to the World Trade Organisation and ruled on in July challenged China's requirement that foreign card issuers - including Citigroup, which in August became the first Western bank in China to issue solely branded credit cards - must use UnionPay's network for yuan- denominated transactions.